Far away in Asahiyama Castle, dozens of kilometers away, Kira Yoshitoki held a large body gun wrapped in the blade of the gun and confronted Takigawa Tokiyoshi, both of them have a promotion height far beyond their peers, and they also have a natural strength, the only difference is probably the difference in the level of professional training and semi-professional training, Takigawa Tokiyoshi, who exercises all day and night, hone his killing skills, is already a big level stronger than Yoshishi Kiragawa, and the sparring between the two is more to help him, the governor, do intensive training.

The sound of intermittent collision came from time to time with the tossing and turning of the two samurai, the so-called body and footsteps are not so complicated, it is nothing more than the skill when cooperating with the enemy, a progressive stab and then a stride to the left and a slash, a simple and coherent action to the extreme can kill the vast majority of marksmanship masters in seconds, and Takigawa Shiyi is already very close to that level.

Whenever Takigawa Tokiyoshi defended, Kira Yoshitoki tried his best to repel him, Takigawa Keijiro would use a similar system of attack routines, using different rhythms to beat him back according to the situation, even if he knew that he intended to retract his strength, he was also wearing a simple carcass pill body, but his strength was unbearable even if it was only "lightly", and Kira Yoshitoki, who had never received training to resist hitting, was hit by him with a round of counterattack and pursuit, and soon swollen.

This kind of battle should last for half an hour, and then rest for half an hour before attacking and defending each other, as an attacker, the requirement is to launch at least six non-stop onslaughts, each attack lasts about two minutes, and the rest of the time is to hold each other to attack freely, this kind of training not only increases the difficulty but also ensures the amount of training, and will not control the rhythm will be tired and lying down.

Kira Yoshitoki is trying to calm his heartbeat, and every time he enters the time of forced attack, he will be urged by the small surname who is supervising the battle on the side, and Iwazurumuru will count for him. As a family supervisor, it is very responsible to practice this part. After all, the weight of the armor on his body is not light. The iron plates on the front chest and back, and the limbs also have thin iron plates to imitate the role of armor, and it is absolutely painful to train in a suit of armor, or under the hot sun in the morning.

In the other corner of the courtyard, several samurai were doing similar training, with Nobumasa Nagasaka taking on Tokikatsu Shima, Moritsuna Watanabe taking on Nagao Joharu, and Miya Honda cheering on as a substitute. They also wore similar armor to do the same training, how could they let go of the opportunity to "share difficulties" with Kirayoshi's temperament.

Nagasaka Nobumasa and Shima Tokikatsu, who have been in battle for a long time, are good to say, they have been tortured by various perverted training of Teutonic knights in the past few years of training, and they are not afraid of this level of training difficulty, Watanabe Moritsuna and Nagao Dingharu can be difficult, the two guys are one year younger than Kira Yoshishi, and they usually practice semi-professional training and feel that they are very powerful, and they are tired when they encounter high-intensity training.

"Bell Bell Bell ......"

A small brass bell rings. It means that this morning's training is all over, and Kira Yoshitoki turns around and runs without saying a word. Several young people standing under the porch hurriedly greeted him and took off their armor, Masuda Shinzaburo respectfully handed over a night of iced sour plum soup, and Tanaka Kubei, who was only eight or nine years old, came over with a small wooden barrel, and large and sweet peaches were placed in the cold well water.

Kira Yoshitoki, who was relaxed, was lying under the porch and complaining while eating peaches: "Why do you have to wear this thing to toss yourself to death!" ”

"It's still very effective to train like this! The owner's body is getting stronger and stronger! Kawada Iwazurumu looked enviously at the strong Lord.

If he didn't know very well that this young governor didn't have the habit of being good at Long Yang, he would definitely take the initiative to sacrifice himself, and a few unlucky people had suggested that they could do "everything" for him or something, and Kira Yoshishi, who was pulled down his face, was all sent to Niigata Town as a basic practitioner, and he didn't want to follow the path that those unlucky people had taken.

"Your Excellency! I've won again in Dingchun! Please believe that in a few years, I will be able to surpass Keijiro and become the first person worthy of the name in Echigo without a few years of force! Hahaha...... "Nagao Dingchun walked over with his chest held high, and proudly showed off his achievements.

Watanabe Moritsuna, who is fifteen years old, is one meter six and five, although he is definitely the top among his peers, but he is a cut shorter than the brothers who have played since childhood, and when he saw the tall and strong Takigawa Keijiro and Shimazuo, he couldn't help but feel even more depressed, and when he heard this guy's shameless show-off, he angrily yelled at Nagao Dingharu: "Bastard! Don't stink here, okay! Isn't it just to beat me once? Yesterday, the day before yesterday, and the days before yesterday, I won against you! ”

"Cut!"

Seeing Nagao Dingharu's contemptuous tone, Watanabe Moritsuna felt that his head was hot, and he yelled angrily: "What a cut!" If you don't accept it, let's play another game, and it will definitely beat you like a dead dog! ”

Nagao Dingchun rolled his eyes and said with a smile: "Come on!" Who's afraid of whom! The loser should respectfully call the winner teacher, dare to bet? ”

"What is there to bet on! Walk! Go now! ”

"Hey, hey! Don't pull and pull, I said I wanted to bet and didn't say to bet immediately, bet today, what are you anxious about? Nagao Dingchun broke away his arm with a hippie smile, proudly picked up a peach and took a bite, and said leisurely: "Let me enjoy the glory of the victor first!" ”

Kira Yoshitoki picked up a few peaches and threw them to Takigawa Keijiro and a few others, looking at the two boys who had a different feeling of fighting spirit, and in the blink of an eye, the naughty boys of the year became the generals of the town guards, and even the Honda Sanya who was snotting all day was twelve years old, and in a few years he would grow into a tall and strong samurai, and somehow suddenly he sighed that life was bullying and unpredictable.

A few days later, in the Asahiyama Castle Ohiroma, the group of Kira retainers who followed the family governor out of the battle gathered here, this time he did not bring the members of the commissioner, and the progress of the project in Echigo was very fast, especially several key projects in the Niigata area had to be kept an eye on, and the strategy of this trip was also different from the past, so he chose to stay with the minister to continue to promote the development of various projects in Echigo.

Today is the time of the daily routine military meeting, and it is at this time that an envoy from the Longtail family hurriedly arrives.

"Honjo Kiyoshichiro Hidetsuna to meet the town hall!" The young samurai bowed down and raised his head to reveal a face that resembled that of Minori Honjo, the only son of Minori Honjo. He is the same age as Kira Yoshitoki. It is about 1.6 meters tall. Yuanfu has not had any special merits for two years, and has been active as a side warrior of Nagao Jinghu.

Kira Yoshitoki smiled and said, "It turned out to be Xiuzuna!" Didn't you go to the field with the United States? ”

"I'm in charge of liaison with the envoy under the command, and this time I'm here to ask about the situation of the town hall, and the lord is worried that Shinano's lack of military strength will be in danger." Honjo Hidetsuna replied truthfully.

"Well, Xiuzuna went back and said that Takeda Harunobu didn't have to worry there, the Takeda family was secretly attacking Hida at this time. I don't have the strength to resist with all my strength for the time being, so please ask my brother Anxin to deal with Hojo Shiyasu! ”

"Yes! Then I said goodbye under it! ”

Watching Honjo Hidetsuna leave quickly, the retainers who had been silent in the assessment room whispered, and Hontashi looked at Nanaoka Kazubo in wonder, making sure that he didn't know the lord's intentions, and finally couldn't help asking: "I don't know what the owner's plan is, is it to immediately march and defeat the 5,000 army led by Takeda Nori, or ......"

Kira Yoshitoki smiled and asked rhetorically, "Do you think that the Takeda Warden will fight the family in a decisive battle?" ”

"I'm afraid not with the nature of that stable's hall! I'm sure I'll be stuck in the castle! Honda's steadfast reaction was beyond the expectations of some samurai, after several years of training. Honda has become a one-sided strategist, and he will serve as a military advisor to Shinano this time. As a military advisor who doesn't know divination, he is still very qualified.

Watanabe Takatsuna asked strangely, "Is the main hall so sure?" ”

"I dare to say this is also a basis, it is said that Takeda Warstable is a loyal and cautious samurai, with a conservative bias in the use of soldiers, perennial as the deputy general of the Takeda family has been inconspicuous, popularity is very good, no one in the Takeda family does not praise Takeda Warstable is a benevolent general."

Through Honda's explanation, the samurai of the Kira family immediately understood his judgment, Honda has been studying the issue of the Takeda family for more than three years, and the information in his hand must be more comprehensive than theirs, and with the support of the intelligence of the Kira Shinobi Army, it is understandable that he has such a firm judgment, and it is probably the case that he has a specialization in the art industry.

"Actually, you don't have to analyze the character of Takeda Norimu in detail to come to the same conclusion." Langgang Fangfang didn't know how to get a feather fan, and it was really a bit of a Kong Ming to shake it twice.

However, his hard work was obviously ignored, and several generations asked at the same time: "How do you say this?" ”

"Takeda Qingxin is a hero, but all heroes are good at forbearance in adversity, like a hidden dragon inhabiting the river, and soaring into the sky when the situation comes!" Langoka continued to pose with half-squinted eyes.

Takikawa Shiyi scratched his head irritably, and couldn't help but remind: "Answer the topic!" Don't say these useless words. ”

"Ugh! I'm off topic! Nanoka Tsubo coughed, and said, "With the current strength of the Takeda family, is it possible to have a full-scale war with Echigo?" Why did Takeda Daizen send his younger brother Takeda Noriya as the main general, instead of going out in person? Isn't it because you're worried about an all-out war? Takeda Daizen must know his younger brother better than we do, and he sent the Takeda Warden to Shinano for nothing more than the possibility of concentration, the first is enough to restrain us, the second is to stabilize the situation, and the third is to show weakness. ”

"The third! Definitely! Takigawa Tokiyoshi's words were echoed by all the samurai.

After the baptism of the last battle of Kawanakajima, the Takeda family has long recognized the strength of the Kira Army, and there is absolutely no chance of winning a frontal field battle, and no one will dare to fight hard with the fierce Kira Army, which is undoubted.

"It is said that the military of the Takeda Stable is not inferior to his brother, so it is a little flattering, judging from the battle examples of several separate leading the army to command the battle, this Stable Hall is very stable with soldiers, and it is not sure that it will rarely fight hard, and most of the orders this time are to contain our side, even if the containment fails, it can prevent the situation from deteriorating." Ben Toshi exclaimed, "What a wonderful move!" ”

"Hehe, it's not just that." Kira Yoshitoki is holding a new bat fan, the front of the white fan is Ashikaga two lead two patterns, and the back is written in small block letters on the family history of the Ashikaga family, and the last monogram is Kira Yoshitoki's "Yi" variant monogram.

"What do you mean?"

"With the wisdom of Takeda Harunobu, can't you guess the determination of the family? Absolutely not! With the determination of the family, the strength of the Kira army, Takeda Harunobu would not face the family without the determination to fight to the death. In this case, it is better to let his younger brother Takeda Nobuyhiro be the main general! It's not a good thing to fight against my own family. If one move is not dealt with well, it will cause huge losses to the Takeda army. What do you think will happen if Takeda Nobuyoshi returns to Kai? Kira raised his eyebrows, as if he didn't care what he had done unintentionally.

Ben Duoshi patted his head suddenly and said with a smile: "I see! It's negligent! Compared to the wisdom of the owner, I still have a lot to learn...... Takeda Daizen's intentions are really sinister, but I don't know how the owner of the hall will deal with this Takeda stable. ”

Kira Yoshitoki shook the bat fan and smiled without saying a word, and Honda was hurriedly turning his brain at high speed to think, every time this expression appeared, it was definitely when he had already made a decision, and the pressure on being his advisor was extraordinarily great. You have to keep up with the thinking of this lord, or you will seem to be too useless.

"With the 6,000 troops of this formation, plus the 2,000 troops of the Shinano country, and the 3,000 troops of the pioneer Murakami, Kakizaki and other teams, a total of 11,000 people!" Langoka Rongfang counted his own troops, and said worriedly: "This time the battle is too hasty, and if you don't prepare well, you will come to attack Shinano, I'm afraid it will be difficult to defeat it." ”

"You can't expect to shoot down Shinano all at once, can you? Didn't the Takeda family also take more than ten years to build the current territory? Watanabe Takatsuna didn't care and said, "If you fight Koku-gun, you must take down Toishi Castle, how should that city be attacked?" Sanada bombs are notoriously difficult to deal with, and the terrain is steep, and it is not convenient for the Iron Artillery Team and the Roasting Team to attack. If you attack, you will definitely lose a lot! ”

"The Iron Artillery Team can't be opened, and neither can the Shigeto Bow Team. There are so many mountain castles in Shinano that if the Takeda family is determined to spend it on the mountain castle and my Kira family, it will be very time-consuming to adjust and remove them one by one. ”

"Not necessarily, as long as you can break through a few iconic castles, it can have a great deterrent effect, and if the Shinano people are shaken, it will be much easier to fight."

"Then it's only Toishi City, right? If the Takeda Army led by Takeda Norimu also cages the castle, then it won't be able to defeat it anyway! ”

"Do you have so much rations in those cities?"

"The Takeda Army should be carrying a lot of rations! If I hold out until the end of autumn, my Kira family will definitely retreat. ”

"I'm afraid I can't wait for the autumn queen, as long as the initial suppression of Hida can be determined, the Takeda army will definitely come back, and when the autumn harvest is over, the Takeda family can make a comeback!"

"In that case......"

The debate among the Kira retainers was extremely fierce, from the initial simple revenge on the Takeda family to the big discussion of the seizure of Shinano, and the quarrel did not stop for half an hour, and the dry-mouthed retainers realized that Kira Yoshitoki had not spoken, and hurriedly bowed down to wait for the governor's instructions.

"The family just wants to take revenge on the Takeda family's despicable and shamelessness, and I haven't thought about taking the entire Shinano for the time being, and speaking of which, capturing Shinano can't be done in one battle, right?" Kira Yoshitoki locked his eyes on Baba Pass, waved his big hand and said, "So the family wants to go out from here and attack Aoyagi Castle!" ”

On July 25, when Takeda Nobushiori was stationed in Shiota Castle and Sanada Yutaka in Toishi City maintained a situation of one south and one north, Murakami's Yoshikiyo team suddenly and slowly retreated to Katsumi Castle, and Kakizaki Keijia, Yasuda Keimoto and others also led their teams to retreat to Jucheng to make a posture of cage city defense.

"What the hell is this doing? Why did they retreat! Takeda Nobu suspiciously took the information in his hand and pondered silently, and the retainers who followed did not dare to intervene, and each took care of his own affairs.

Since the impact of the war two years ago, the Takeda family's research on the Kira family can be described as a comprehensive analysis, and even sent a penetrating ninja to Kyoto to carefully investigate his news, they disguised themselves as farmers, small merchants, monks, wandering maidens, witches and other professions in Kinai for nearly two years, in order to get first-hand information, they did not hesitate to use the hidden lines hidden in Kinai for many years, and all kinds of information sent back made people feel terrified.

The Miyoshi family is far stronger than the Takeda family, and the intelligence of the Tamba War and the siege of the Hatakeyama and Rokkaku coalition forces made them realize that the Miyoshi family is powerful, 2,000 iron cannons, nearly 1,000 horseback samurai, and can mobilize 30,000 troops at any time is by no means something that the current Takeda family can fight.

The maximum mobilization force of the Takeda family is between 20,000, and if you take into account the strength of the troops left behind, the maximum military strength of the army is about 15,000, perhaps the overall quality of the samurai, the overall combat power of the ashigaru is stronger than that of the Miyoshi family, but this is not enough to offset the gap in strength and equipment.

It is said that the Miyoshi family was even more powerful a few years ago, but the Kira family was able to play a brilliant record of complete victory in the face of this powerful enemy, and it has a lot to do with whether there is the influence of Yamamoto Tokiyuki or not. The important thing is that the Kira army is very difficult to deal with. This sudden retreat made people wonder what kind of medicine he was selling in his gourd.

Takeda Nobuyo's half-brother Matsuo Nobu said: "Could it be that the Kira army is empty." Worried about us being caught between two sides? There are more than 6,000 people in our army, and Sanada Bullet still has 2,000 troops, and it is easy to eat this vanguard army with a two-sided attack! ”

"It's very likely that this is the case, according to the penetrating intelligence, the main force of the Kira army is still in Asahiyama Castle, although it is suppressed by the Kira ninja and cannot be approached, but the general number of troops is still estimated, so far. At most, it won't exceed 8,000 troops! "Masatsu Koyamada led a thousand troops to come with the army as support, and it was clear that Takeda Harunobu felt that the five thousand troops were still not enough.

Fan Fu Huchang shouted dissatisfiedly: "At most, eight thousand people dare to fight?" That's arrogant! Do you think I'm a nobody? ”

"Anyway, let's wait and see!" Nobuyori Takeda made a decision.

The confused Takeda army tried to launch several attacks but were repelled by Murakami and Kakizaki Army, Takeda Nobuyoshi couldn't figure out the plans of the Kira family and did not dare to act rashly, and the Murakami and Kakizaki coalition forces had no intention of attacking at all, and both sides were preparing to drag it down, compared to the carelessness of the Kira Army when waiting, the Takeda Army was even more uneasy.

However, from the perspective of the situation, it is more beneficial for the Takeda family to wear down, and Takeda Nobuyoshi is also happy to see that the Kira army has not moved. As long as the other party does not retreat until the autumn harvest, the Takeda family is sure to make the Kira army suffer a little. This consumption was a full five days, except for a few tentative battles on the first day, there were no more military operations on both sides, and the strange atmosphere made Takeda Nobuyhiro very worried.

Soon his worries were fulfilled, and five days later he received the news of the fall of Aoyagi Castle, and the Kira army did not worry about who was superior or inferior in the confrontation, so he hung the 6,000 troops in Yantian Castle for five days, and then took advantage of this time difference to fight to Nakashinano, and the Takeda army realized that they were placed together by the Kira army.

The Kira Legion left 2,000 Shinano reserves near Kawanaka Island as a countermeasure, and the 6,000 troops as the main force appeared in front of Aoyagi Castle in a silent and unexpected crossing the Baba Pass, and the unsuspecting Aoyagi Castle lord Aoyagi Kiyocho desperately resisted the invasion of the Kira Army, but unfortunately there were only 200 garrisons in the city that could not stop the surprise attack of the 6,000 army.

With the cooperation of the Iron Artillery Team and the Shigeto Bow Team, powerful firepower poured on the fragile castle, and easily breached the fortified castle that had blocked Nagao Keitora in the First Battle of Kawanakajima, and Aoyagi Kiyocho was killed on the spot, and his younger brother Aoyagi Yorinaga and his clan all seppuku, and none of the surviving samurai could only endure grief and be forced to surrender.

The silent capture of Aoyagi Castle also silently announced the complete collapse of the Takeda family's painstaking management of the Ashinonon defense line, and the big leak of the Ashinono leaked everything completely, and Takeda Harunobu, who was in the Kai Yuya Hot Spring Recuperation, also received the news at the same time, and there was no way except to lose his temper in anger.

Of course, he was well aware of the topographical characteristics of Shinano, which was divided into two parts by a continuous mountain range stretching from Hachinogake in the south to Mt. Iinenayama in the north, and since ancient times there was a country of Shinano, the north and south Shinano used this mountain range as a natural dividing zone, with North Shinano to the northeast and Naka-Shinano to the southwest.

In this mountain range, there are many plateaus that can be crossed, such as Baba Pass, Aoki Pass, Hofukuji Pass, and Takeshi Pass, and the Takeda family's military strength is impossible to block so many mountains and passes, as long as the slightest flaw is exposed, it may be used by the enemy's well-intentioned people, and in the final analysis, the Takeda family is strategically in a passive situation, so they will take care of one or the other to reveal more flaws.

Angry and scolding can't solve the problem, and Takeda Harunobu, who calmed down, began to think about countermeasures: "The cunning Kira family! If they defend Shinano, Xiaoyi County will definitely be broken, and a stone city can't stop the army from pressing the border, it's really a good calculation...... That's it! The family will see the move! I hope you don't be naïve enough to think that Shinano is so easy to capture! ”

After a little thought, the current situation was clearly calculated, and Takeda Harunobu asked the close attendants to convey the order on his behalf, and the Suwa Shokata and Baba Nobuharu joined forces to resist the Kira army that invaded Nakashinano, and specifically asked Nakashinano's main force to avoid a decisive battle with the Kira army as much as possible, no matter how good the timing was, they must not act without authorization, and those who violate the order will be beheaded.

Later, several orders were issued, mainly urging the people of the Naka-Shinano country to unite under the banner of the Takeda Army, and defend the walled city with their respective geographical advantages, and it was best to choose a mountain city with sufficient water sources and military rations to hold on, and once they encountered the attack of the Kira Army, they would try to shrink back and light a beacon fire for help, and try every means to delay the offensive pace of the Kira Army.

It takes time to send out orders, and it takes time to accept orders and choose the degree of execution, and this back and forth delay of seven or eight days has missed the best time to adjust, and the Kira army is like a tiger into the flock, killing all the way from north to south to Fukashi City.

Under the cool mountain breeze in the summer, the white flags with the words "punish despicable" and "rule the rebels" flutter in the wind, which of course cannot be called the white flag, not all the white flags are called white flags if you write your words or draw a family crest, these two flags are the high-sounding reasons for Kira Yoshitoki to play this battle.

The punishment is despicable, that is, when the Takeda family assassinated Kira Yoshi, the contact has always been a trouble, Echigo first, the Kira family launched military revenge later, and the defeat of the rebel ministers was to govern in the name of Shinano's protection and acting shogun, and crusade against the wealthy clans and countrymen who did not obey the orders in Shinano's country, and the superposition of the two left him enough room for maneuver to go out of Shinano, and the Takeda family, which occupied most of Shinano's territory, lost its moral support, and the people of Nakashinano were also called "rebels", so it is conceivable how aggrieved they were.

In the next half month, the Kira army routed several Shinano national armies of the Takeda side along the way, broke through the hut castle and Hiki Castle, and penetrated deep into the Matsumoto Basin along the rich water system of the Rhikawa River Basin.

The elusive harassment of the Chibei cavalry, once robbed and burned several small packs outside Fukashi Castle, the huge logistical hidden dangers and psychological shadows put the Takeda family under deep pressure, Kira Chibei is too powerful, and it is so difficult to deal with harassment tactics, Baba Nobuharu tried to tempt Kira Chibi several times, but was seen through by the cunning Takikawa Shiyi, and the Kira army who did not bite the hook became more and more difficult to deal with.

On August 18, Takeda Nobuyoshi led an army of 5,000 troops to finally enter Fukashi Castle, this time bypassing Saku and Suwa Prefecture, and finally came to Chikuma County, and at this time Minami Shinano's army gathered more than 12,000 troops, and the strong military strength gave the people of Nakashinano great encouragement, and they decided to fight for the stability of their territory and the increase of meritorious deeds, and the people of Nakashinano had to earn enough merit even if they died under the iron hooves of Kira Akabei.

This time it was the Kira army that really encountered a problem, and Kira Akabei's elusiveness was based on the great fear of the Takeda army, once the Shinano people broke through the cauldron and put on a posture of being barefoot and not afraid to wear shoes, and any military action would be besieged by the Nakashino people who did not want to die.

When it comes to the familiarity of the terrain, Kira Akabi is far behind, and the people of Nakasinno are also playing like this, in the groves, in the deep valleys, and the reeds on the side of the road can become the location of their ambushes, and the local people's army that gives full play to the geographical advantages and advantages is a bit of a smooth fight, even if you can't beat you, you can be disgusted to death. (To be continued......)